Poverty rate in Arkansas shrinksLITTLE ROCK — A survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau says the percentage of Arkansas residents living below the poverty line is shrinking. According to the survey, Arkansas ranked 44th in the nation with a more than 17 percent poverty rate last year. The standing is an improvement from 2015, when Arkansas ranked 47th with a more than 19 percent poverty rate. The state's poverty rate was the fourth greatest change nationwide, the Arkansas...

Federal trial delayed in Arkansas for Tennessee rapperLITTLE ROCK— An Arkansas trial has been delayed for a Tennessee rapper and his bodyguard, who face federal weapons charges The scheduled Monday trial of Ricky Hampton, who performs as Finese2Tymes, and bodyguard Kentrell Gwynn, both of Memphis, was postponed on Friday until March 19. Hampton is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with a shooting outside a nightclub in eastern Arkansas and Gwynn is charged with p...

Arkansas unemployment rate up to 3.5 percent in AugustLITTLE ROC — The Arkansas unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percent in August to stand at 3.5 percent. The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services said Friday that the total number of people employed increased by just more than 2,000 while the number of unemployed rose by more than 1,200 as the overall workforce increased by more than 3,200. The trade, transportation and utilities sector had the largest decline with 3,000 fewer j...

Arkansas board to hear condemned killer's bid for clemencyLITTLE ROCK— The Arkansas Parole Board says it will hear a convicted murderer's bid for clemency just more than a month before he's scheduled to be executed. The board said Friday it will hold a hearing Oct. 4 on Jack Greene's application for executive clemency. Greene was convicted of killing Sidney Jethro Burnett in 1991 after Burnett and his wife accused Greene of arson. Gov. Asa Hutchinson last month scheduled Greene's execution for Nov. 9...

3 inmates hurt after disturbance at Arkansas prisonLITTLE ROCK — Three inmates were injured after a disturbance at an Arkansas prison that included prisoners breaking windows and damaging surveillance equipment, officials said Friday, the latest in a recent series of incidents at corrections facilities that have prompted investigations by state police. The Arkansas Department of Correction said an undetermined number of inmates late Thursday night broke windows and damaged surveillance equipme...

Arkansas DHS reveals breach of client personal informationLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Department of Human Services says personal and health information of more than 26,000 Medicaid recipients has been breached. DHS said Friday that the information includes Social Security numbers and Medicaid identification numbers that are on spreadsheets emailed to an employee's home email address. DHS said the employee was a former payment integrity coding analyst who sent the information the day before she was fir...

Arkansas residents with health care insurance riseLITTLE ROCK — A government agency survey says the percentage of Arkansas residents with health care insurance is on the rise, putting the state above the national average. The number of uninsured residents dropped last year by almost 46,000 to nearly 231,800, according to the survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The state ranked 25th in the percentage of residents with coverage last year, an improvement from 2015 when the state ranked 3...

Fort Smith officials advised to reject lawsuit settlementFORT SMITH — City leaders in northwest Arkansas have been advised to reject a settlement in a lawsuit that accuses them of violating the Freedom of Information Act by discussing city business in emails. Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen filed two FOIA lawsuits on behalf of a resident. One of the lawsuits is against the city, and the other is against City Directors Keith Lau, Andre Good and Mike Lorenz. The lawsuits say that emails directors e...

Arkansas woman admits using county cash to buy dog tuxedoHOT SPRINGS— A former administrative assistant to an Arkansas county official has pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of a credit card after prosecutors accused her of using public money to buy personal items, including a tuxedo for her pet pug. Kristi Goss was set for trial this week but pleaded guilty Monday. Authorities accused Goss of fraudulently charging $200,000 to a Garland County credit card on purchases including the dog tuxedo, a diamo...

Voters in Baxter County support sales tax for jail expansionMOUNTAIN HOME— Voters in Baxter County have approved two sales tax measures that will expand the county jail and fund Mountain Home's fire and police departments. Voters on Tuesday approved an eight-month, 1 percent sales tax that will pay for 50 new beds at the Baxter County jail, along with a 0.25 percent sales tax to pay for maintenance and operation of the jail. In Mountain Home, city voters approved a 0.375 percent sales tax that will sup...

Arkansas officials ask court to toss city's speed-trap suitCONWAY — The Arkansas Attorney General's office has asked a court to toss out a city's speed-trap lawsuit. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Damascus City Attorney Beau Wilcox filed a lawsuit in June asking the Faulkner County Circuit Court to overturn Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland's finding that local police were running a speed trap. The lawsuit argues the state's speed-trap law is unconstitutionally vague. Assistant Attorney Gen...

Circus animals found in Arkansas to be sent to GermanyWEINER— Seven tigers, six lions and a leopard that were recently discovered by authorities in a warehouse in northeastern Arkansas will soon be flown to Germany. The former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus animals were found in good health on Saturday in Weiner, Arkansas. The Poinsett County Sheriff's Office went to the scene after receiving an anonymous tip, according to Randy Zellers, spokesman for Arkansas Game and Fish Commission....

Prosecutors drop murder charges in Blytheville slayingBLYTHEVILLE— Prosecutors have dropped capital murder charges filed against a Blytheville man who had been accused in a December shooting death. The Blytheville Courier News reports that the charges were dropped Monday against Travis Young, who had been charged in the Dec. 19 killing of 52-year-old Dennis Moore. Deputy prosecuting attorney Curtis Walker declined to comment on the case. But Young's attorney, Birc Morledge, tells the newspaper th...

Fatal shooting in Little Rock's River Market found justifiedLITTLE ROCK — Prosecutors say two central Arkansas police officers who fatally shot a man in Little Rock's downtown entertainment district won't face criminal charges. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that officers Brian Osmundson and Samuel Hill have been cleared in the March 26 death of 54-year-old Michael Hornibrook. Hornibrook was fatally shot by police near a downtown bar in the city's River Market district. Pulaski County Chief Depu...

Arkansas judge halts lawsuit by reality TV's Josh DuggarFAYETTEVILLE — A judge has halted a lawsuit filed by reality TV personality Josh Duggar over the release of information related to allegations that he sexually abused his sisters as a child. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports a federal judge issued the ruling Monday in a lawsuit filed against city officials in Springdale, Arkansas. The decision stops proceedings until the judge decides on the city's motion to dismiss the case. Dug...

Arkansas 1 of 2 states without plan for water degradationLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is one of just two states that have yet to implement a plan to protect the state's most important waters from degrading. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Arkansas has not adopted an "anti-degradation" plan, a major provision of the federal Clean Water Act's water quality standards to stop rivers and lakes from deteriorating. Deterioration can occur in many forms, such as when a body of water has too much dirt o...

No one has applied for $815,000 Arkansas environmental grantLITTLE ROCK— Administrators of Arkansas' most populous county say no one has applied for an $815,000 grant from a federal environmental program that helped developers revitalize downtown Little Rock's Main Street. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund distributes money to government agencies to assess and clean up properties where hazardous substances may be present. Ab...

Arkansas State Fair increases security amid crime surgeLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas State Fair will increase its security this year amid a surge of crimes in Little Rock. Ralph Shoptaw, president of the event, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the fair has purchased walk-through metal detectors for the first time in its 78-year history. The detectors, which cost about $1,500, are paid for through a surplus equipment program. "With the rise in homicides, we just felt like it was something that we ne...

Victim of ex-Arkansas prison chaplain files federal suitLITTLE ROCK — One of three female inmates a former Arkansas prison chaplain admitted to sexually assaulting has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against him and other state prison officials. An inmate at the McPherson Women's Unit sued Kenneth Dewitt, a former chaplain at the prison, Correction Director Wendy Kelley and other state prison officials in a complaint filed Thursday. Dewitt was sentenced to five years in prison last year after ...

Taped phone calls can be used against ex-Arkansas lawmakerFAYETTEVILLE— Federal prosecutors will be allowed to use secretly recorded phone calls involving a former Arkansas state senator charged in a corruption case. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that U.S. District Judge Tim Brooks on Friday denied a request by Republican former Sen. Jon Woods to prevent prosecutors from using the recordings. The recordings are of phone calls between Woods and Republican former Rep. Micah Neal, who ...